


I'm Fine, Thank You

by cabbages



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-02 18:44:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2822354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabbages/pseuds/cabbages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They found him lying in a pool of blood on the floor in the break room with a gun resting in his hand.</p><p>The police say it was suicide. Everyone else thinks it's murder.</p><p>Nobody knows for sure, and soon after the incident, strange things start happening around the Rooster Teeth office...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Week One - Monday

**Author's Note:**

> For the sake of this story, we're going to pretend that the RT office is still at it's previous location, Burnie and Matt are co-CEOs, and Michael and Lindsay are married and live in a different apartment (not the one that's right next to the office).
> 
> Hope you enjoy :3
> 
> *Title is also a work in progress~

They found him lying in a pool of blood on the floor in the break room with a gun resting in his hand.  
  
Geoff knew that Gavin was staying late at the office that night. The previous week had been pretty hectic; they had recorded tons of new content and some old videos that carried over from two weeks prior had added to the already long list of things that needed to be edited. The Achievement Hunter employees had been working their asses off to get episodes edited and out on time, but there was just so much work to get done. Everyone had stayed back late, but it was Gavin who insisted upon remaining while everyone else filed out of the office and headed home.   
  
"Are you sure?" Geoff had asked. His car keys were in his hands; the room was already empty except for the two of them. Looking out the window Geoff saw Michael driving out of the parking lot. "It's already late as it is,"  
  
Gavin shook his head. "It's fine, really. Videos don't edit themselves after all." He gave Geoff a smile and turned back to his monitor, wasting no time in getting back to work.  
  
Geoff opened his mouth to argue, but instead relented; Gavin seemed pretty adamant about staying, and as soon as he was focused, it was hard to get him to take a break.  
  
"All right. Call me when you're done so I can pick you up. I'm probably going to bed at eleven, so finish up before then, okay? Don't stay too late. We still have tomorrow you know."  
  
Gavin absentmindedly nodded his head. "I know,"  
  
"See you later, buddy,"  
  
And so he left.  
  
And Gavin never came home.

\-----------

  
When Geoff got to the Rooster Teeth office that Monday morning, he was already worried before he even saw the busted iron gate.  
  
Gavin had never called him last night. He had never come home. Sure, every once in a blue moon somebody would stay late and end up falling asleep at the office, but never Gavin. Gavin always made sure to call for a ride home, even if that call happened to be at three in the morning. And no matter how late, or how early for that matter, Geoff was always there, waiting outside the gate in his Audi with a too-tired-to-argue attitude as Gavin climbed in with a sheepish smile.  
  
But Gavin had never called, and Geoff didn't realize it until he woke up that morning at seven and checked his phone. He immediately got out of bed and got dressed, then quickly scribbled a note and left it on the kitchen counter for Griffon before grabbing his keys and hurrying out to the car.  
  
So when he saw the smashed in front gate, his worry only increased.  
  
Geoff parked his car on the side of the road and got out quickly, his heart already close to pounding. He saw no other cars in the parking lot or around the building, which was unusual considering Burnie or Matt were always the first to arrive. Geoff quickly jogged over to the gate and squeezed through a few mangled bars, noticing the long tire tracks that headed out to the street from the parking lot, then headed towards the front door which he noticed was slightly ajar. He paused and reached in his back pocket for a gun that was not there, momentarily thinking he was back in the army during one of the occasions where he wasn't just taking pictures.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside the front lobby. The floor was littered with papers and other objects that used to be on Kara's desk. The Achievement Hunter office door was open, and as Geoff walked in he saw that Gavin's monitor was still on but in sleep mode. When he jiggled the mouse the screen showed the Let's Play that Gavin was working on when Geoff left last night. It was close to being finished, and Gavin's headphones hung from his desk by its cord.  
  
By now Geoff was thoroughly freaked out. The office was a mess, the hallway leading to the break room and stairs was covered in shards of glass from a few fallen picture frames, a bunch of other items were strewn about here and there, and Gavin was nowhere to be found. It looked like a break in and an attempted robbery had occurred, and Geoff was just about to pull out his phone and call the cops when he tripped over the broken leg of a chair and stumbled into the break room.  
  
He looked down and that’s when he saw Gavin laying on the floor, a pool of dried blood surrounding him, with a gun laying in his open palm.  
  
Geoff nearly dropped his phone in horror. He thought he was going to be sick. Overcome with nausea, he backed up into the wall and stared at Gavin's lifeless body. The sight terrified him but he could not look away. It was like he was being forced to see this. It took a few minutes, but eventually he managed to regain some level of composure before he tentatively stepped over some debris and knelt down by Gavin.  
  
Only then did the full impact of what he was seeing hit him.  
  
His eyes suddenly became blurry as they swam with tears. He stuck a shaky hand out and gently touched Gavin's wrist, but immediately pulled away at the coldness he felt. He looked into Gavin's glassy, faded eyes and choked back a sob.  
  
"Oh God..." he breathed. A few tears trickled down his checks. "Oh God, Gavin. Oh God..."   
  
He reached for his phone, immediately turning it on and pressing the emergency button. It took a few seconds before a dispatcher finally picked up.  
  
 _"911, what's your emergency?"_  
  
"I..." Geoff was at a loss for words. Thoughts and pleas for help were bouncing around in his brain, but none of them made it out of his mouth. He could only stare, traumatized, his mouth agape, at the bloody corpse of his pseudo-son and try not to melt into a puddle of hysteria. "I..."  
  
 _"Sir? Sir, are you there? What is your emergency?"_  
  
"There's...there's been a break in..." Geoff replied, having finally found his voice.  
  
 _"A break in? Sir, can you tell me your name and location so I can send an emergency vehicle?"_  
  
Geoff swallowed. He stumbled back, his eyes never leaving Gavin's body. "M-My name is Geoff Ramsey...I'm at 636 Ralph Ablanedo Drive. Please hurry. There's a..." He choked on his words, his brain refusing to say them.  
  
 _"All right, Mr. Ramsey, stay calm. We are sending the police to your location. Are there any victims in this emergency? Any injuries?"_  
  
Geoff felt a wave if tears surge forward. He turned away from the body and covered his mouth with his free hand, trying and failing to stifle the whimpers that were escaping.  
  
 _"Sir? Are you all right? Are there any-"_  
  
"There's a dead body," he said quickly, the words leaving an awful taste in his mouth. He wanted to wretch, he wanted to walk right out the door and heave his nonexistent breakfast out of his stomach. Being in the building was suffocating him, making his chest heave with panic. He never wanted to see anything like this. He never _expected_ to see anything like this.  
  
The 911 operator continued to talk, when all Geoff wanted to do was hang up and throw his phone against the wall. _"You said there was a dead body? Sir, do you know the victim? Do you know what their name is?"_  
  
"His name is...is Gavin. Gavin Free. I'm..." Geoff had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying "his father”. "I'm his boss. He lives with me and my family."  
  
 _"Sir, can you tell me what injuries Mr. Free has and the events leading up to the discovery of the body and break in? I'm sending an ambulance your way. They will be there momentarily. Sir, I need you to calm down, okay?"_  
  
By now Geoff was a sobbing mess. He paced around the floor, walking over the debris like it wasn't even there. His free hand was yanking at his hair as he walked around with his eyes squeezed shut, tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't breathe; his wails had made him begin to hyperventilate. Over the sound of his weeping he heard the operator offering him reassurances and the faint whining of the ambulance. As it approached the studio the sirens suddenly ceased, and the doors opened and voices could be heard shouting.  
  
He was getting sick of the operator's stupid, calming voice. Finally fed up, Geoff dropped his phone and leaned up against the wall. His eyes swept the room and landed on Gavin's still form, and a new bout of shoulder-racking sobs came. He slid down the wall, his face in his hands, just as the paramedics rushed in.  
  
Two of them went over to Gavin and checked his body over for injuries and any signs of life. Another approached Geoff and knelt beside him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Mr. Ramsey, I know what you're experiencing right now is very traumatic and you're in shock, but I'm gonna need you to stand up and come with me to the ambulance so we can take care if you, okay?"   
  
Geoff didn't respond.  
  
He was looking up at Burnie, who was standing rigid at the entrance to the hallway, his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide, and a team of paramedics trying to pull him back out of the building.   
  
"Oh my God," was the last thing Geoff heard before he fainted. 


	2. Week One - Tuesday

Rooster Teeth Productions was closed.  
  
The building was cornered off with police tape; it was officially a crime scene.  
  
Gavin's body was documented for evidence and then covered and wheeled away before anyone else arrived. Burnie called every employee and told them not to come in for the rest of the week, maybe longer. Everyone was getting what Burnie only described as "emergency leave", and he left it at that.  
  
That Tuesday morning, Burnie met with the police back at the crime scene to recount what he had witnessed. He rocked back and forth on his heels, a cold cup of coffee in one hand, his other hand stuffed in his pants pocket. Geoff stood next to him facing away from the building. He hadn't said a word all morning.  
  
"I arrived at the office at 7:30 AM." Burnie began. A few steps away, a young police officer was taking notes while his older coworker stood quietly and listened. "Normally I would arrive at seven, but every now and then I sleep in and arrive late. Matt Hullum, the other co-CEO, or I arrive first. We’re always the first employees here."  
  
"When I arrived the ambulance was already here and I saw Geoff's car parked outside the gate on the left. I didn't see anyone outside, so I decided to go in because obviously if you see an ambulance at your workplace you get kinda worried, you know? So as I walked in a few paramedics tried to get me to leave; I told them I worked here and proceeded down the hall where I found Geoff and the..." Burnie hesitated. He stared down at his coffee and swirled it absentmindedly. "...the body."  
  
"And Gavin Free was one if your employees?"  
  
Burnie nodded, then sighed. "With all due respect officer, we went over all of this yesterday. We already gave our statements."  
  
The older officer nodded in understanding. "I know it can be frustrating, sir, but we're just trying to get the most accurate picture of what happened. You said there were no other vehicles present other than the ambulance and Mr. Ramsey's car when you arrived?"  
  
"No, there were no other cars,"  
  
"All right..."  
  
While the officer and Burnie continued to talk, Geoff turned around and glanced at the crime scene investigators exiting and reentering the building as they continued to collect evidence. A skinny woman with a camera stood outside the front entrance to the building and snapped a few pictures of the damaged door. She turned around and took pictures of the tire tracks on the pavement, then walked out to where Geoff and Burnie were standing to take pictures of the busted gate. Geoff shuffled to the side a bit and curled in on himself slightly, already feeling the familiar waves of nausea rolling in his stomach. He really didn't want to be here, and he was thankful when the older police officer finally said they could leave as the investigators finished up collecting evidence and surveying the crime scene for the time being.   
  
"The team is gonna take a small break and then get back to work. Generally we want witnesses present during the first day of investigations. It's already past that point and we just wanted to make sure we had the statement as accurate as possible, so you two are free to go." The officer reached into his back pocket and produced two business cards. He gave one to Burnie and one to Geoff, respectively, then tipped his hat. "Call me anytime if you'd like to revise or change your statement. We'll call you if anything new comes up, don't worry. Now go home and get some rest,"  
  
The officers walked back to their cruisers, and Burnie motioned with his head for Geoff to walk with him to his car. "Come on," he said softly, noticing the blankness in Geoff's eyes. "Why don't we go get a beer, take our minds off this for a little bit?"  
  
Geoff turned to him, face completely void of emotion, though Burnie could see his eyes shining with horrendous pain. "We have to tell them, Burnie." His voice was weak and pathetic, and Burnie could feel his heart breaking for the poor man.  
  
Burnie sighed as he got into the driver's seat and closed the door. He rested both hands on the steering wheel and looked out the windshield at the departing cops. "I know...I just...how can you tell them something like this? How can you tell your entire company that Gavin, who everyone was best friends with, is dead, and he may or may not have committed suicide?"  
  
"It wasn't suicide!" Geoff suddenly snapped. His fist slammed down on the dashboard and caused the glovebox to pop open. Burnie flinched; this was the most emotion Geoff had shown all day. "Those cops are fucking idiots. You think he just hijacked a car and rammed it through the gate, then trashed the halls to make it _look_ like a break-in? You are a lot of things, Burnie, but you are not stupid."  
  
"Fuck man, how the hell am I supposed to know?" Burnie yelled back. "I wasn't there when it happened. I will never know exactly what happened that night, and I don't think I can ever live with that." Geoff remained quiet. Burnie turned and gave him a pleading look. "It's been one day, Geoff," he said with a gentler tone. “ _One day._ I just...I'm not ready, okay? I don't know what the fuck to tell them. I know you're upset, and believe me I am too, but I just can't right now. I need some time to get my thoughts into order and decide what I'm going to say,"  
  
Geoff scoffed. "So you're going to cherrypick your information? We can't leave them in the dark, Burnie! Ashley, Matt, and Griffon already know, and Griffon isn't even a part of the company anymore! We can't keep this quiet forever!"  
  
This time it was Burnie who slammed his fists down. They made harsh contact with the wheel, creating a resounding _smack!_ Burnie's head whipped to glare at Geoff and his face was moist with tears and absolutely livid.  
  
"You think I don't fucking know that?! You think I want everyone to wonder why they fuck they can't come to work, why when they text other employees Gavin never responds? I am trying _so fucking hard_ to remain calm and find the best way to approach this situation, but guess what Geoff? There is no best way! In college they don't fucking teach you what to do when one of your employees gets murdered!"  
  
Burnie fell silent, his chest heaving, and ran his hands over the steering wheel. He turned the key in the ignition and started the car, then put it into drive. For a while they just sat there on the side of street in silence. Burnie sniffled and took a few moments to compose himself, then eventually drove off. The ride was wordless, with Geoff staring out the window the whole time and Burnie refusing to look at him. It wasn't until they were almost at Geoff's house that Geoff finally broke the tension and spoke up.  
  
"How about that beer, then?"

 


	3. Week One - Wednesday

When Michael finally dragged his ass out of bed that morning at 11:30, the first thing he did was roll over and reach for his phone on the nightstand. He turned it on and checked for messages, frowning when he saw no reply from Gavin yet. It had been three days since he last heard from the lad, and as much as he didn't really want to admit it, he was getting a bit worried.

 Sighing at the lack of answers, he sent a quick text to Ray asking if he had heard from Gavin lately, then kicked the covers off himself and stumbled into the living room. Lindsay was on the couch eating a bowl of cereal while watching some weird anime, and she looked up as she heard Michael enter.

"Oh good, you're finally up," She smiled and turned back to the TV. "I was just about to go in and wake you up before you slept in ‘till two,”

"I would've been up earlier if we were actually fucking allowed to go to work, but that doesn't look like it's happening for a while." Michael rubbed his face as he opened the fridge. "By the way, have you heard anything from Burnie or anyone about that? I keep texting him but he always tells me not to worry about it, and Gavin hasn't answered any of my texts or calls since Sunday."

Lindsay frowned. "Really? Is there something wrong?"

Michael scoffed. "Well if there is he's not telling me. Nobody's telling me anything. I mean, what the hell happened for us to get a week of 'emergency leave'? Unless Burnie spontaneously decided to be generous, I don't know what the fuck's going on, and Gavin not answering any of my calls or texts isn’t really helping."

He took a gallon of milk out of the fridge and poured himself a bowl of cereal, too lazy to make the eggs and bacon that he would rather have. He just couldn't stop thinking about whatever the hell was going on at Rooster Teeth. He remembered that Monday when he had been woken up to the sound of his phone vibrating. He had quickly answered his phone and Burnie had told him and Lindsay not to come in for the rest of the week, perhaps even longer.

Looking back on it now, Michael thought that Burnie had sounded kind of shaken up, though he never said why or what had happened. And now that Gavin wasn’t responding and nobody else knew what was going on, the phone call only served to increase his suspicion and worry. He finished making his breakfast and sat down on the couch next to Lindsay, who moved closer to snuggle into his side. She sighed and looked up at him. 

“I’m sure Gavin is fine.” She gave Michael a quick peck on the cheek. “Everything is probably fine,”

“Are you sure you haven’t heard anything?” Michael pressed. “Nothing from Geoff, Ryan, Burnie… _anyone?”_

Lindsay shook her head slowly. “Nothing.”

Setting his bowl down on the table, Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He checked his phone and found a text from Ray saying, as expected, that he knew nothing either. Gavin hadn’t texted him, Geoff hadn’t responded either, and Burnie continued to spew the same “don’t worry about it” bullshit.

Well, Michael was getting fed up. He couldn’t _not_ worry about it, especially when Gavin was being mysteriously silent. With Gavin once again on his mind, Michael found his name in his contacts and called him, hoping to actually get an answer this time.

The look of confusion that passed over his face prompted Lindsay to sit up and rub his back to try to comfort him. Michael’s call went directly to voicemail, which meant Gavin’s phone wasn’t even on. It had been on yesterday and the day before. Why wasn’t it on now? Gavin never left the phone dead; he always made sure to charge it.

By now Michael was beyond worried. Things were just straight up scaring at this point. First Gavin didn’t answer any of his calls or texts; he hadn’t even seen the lad since Sunday for Christ’s sakes. And now his phone was dead?

“What the fuck?” Michael mumbled to himself as he scrolled through his contacts. Lindsay squeezed his shoulders in a feeble attempt to console him.

“Is everything all right?” 

“Something’s fucking wrong here,” he said, just as he lifted his phone to his ear. “Geoff, what the fuck?”

 There was a moment of silence. Michael furrowed his brows in confusion as he listened to Geoff talk.

“I haven’t heard from Gavin since Sunday night when he stayed late at the office. I keep texting him and calling him but he doesn’t fucking answer.”

Another pause. Geoff’s voice was faint coming from the phone’s speakers, and he sounded kind of annoyed. Lindsay scooted closer to Michael and tapped on his shoulder. “Put it on speaker,” she whispered.

Michael nodded and pressed a button, and then suddenly Geoff’s voice filled the room. 

_“-need to yell about it, for Christ’s sake. Why is it so important that you talk to him anyway?”_

“Because I don’t know what the fuck is going on. Nobody does! Why the hell aren’t we allowed to come to work? Why isn’t Gavin answering his phone? What the hell is he doing anyway? _What the fuck is happening?”_

There was a pause, too long for Michael’s comfort, before Geoff finally said something. _“…Gavin isn’t here.”_

Michael stopped. He looked over at Lindsay incredulously, and she only shrugged.

“Okay…” he dragged out. “Care to elaborate? What the fuck does that mean?”

_“He went back to England on Monday. Something to do with Dan coming back or whatever.”_

“And he didn’t bother to tell any of us? Gavin always tells us when he leaves. Why would he suddenly keep it secret?”

“ _I don’t fucking know!”_ Geoff exclaimed, speaking rather hurriedly. Lindsay noted that it seemed Geoff wanted to end the conversation as quickly as possible. She started to open her mouth to say something when Geoff cut her off. “ _He just left. That’s all I know.”_

Michael didn’t seem to be buying it. “Uh huh. Does this have anything to do with the ‘emergency leave’ Burnie gave us on Monday? What the fuck is that all about? Surely you should know since-“ 

“ _I honestly don’t fucking know, Michael. Okay? I don’t know. I don’t know why we can’t go to work, I don’t know why Gavin left without telling anyone, and I don’t know why his phone is dead. What I do know is that it’s probably nothing to be worried about, so just calm down.”_

“I never said Gavin’s phone was dead.”

Geoff went completely silent. There was absolutely no noise on his end of the line for a solid few moments before he finally managed to squeak something out. “ _…Excuse me?”_

“All I said was that Gavin wasn’t answering his phone; I never said that it was dead. And yet you just said it was. How did you find that out, Geoff? Is Gavin telling you things that we don’t know?” 

_“Jesus fucking Christ, I was just assuming. I don’t know if it’s dead or off or whatever, I was just making a guess. I bet the reason he’s not answering is because he forgot to take his phone with him. You know what? Why don’t I go check? I’ll be right back.”_

The phone fell silent again and Michael took it off speaker. He turned to Lindsay and shook his head. “Something’s up with Geoff,” he said matter-of-factly. Lindsay quickly nodded in agreement.

“He certainly doesn’t seem too keen on having this conversation. And I highly doubt that Burnie wouldn’t tell him why we can’t come into work.”

“Also what’s this shit about Gavin leaving without telling us? And forgetting his phone for fuck’s sake. This isn’t like Gavin at all. I call bullshit.”

Just then Geoff’s voice came back on the line, so Michael put him on speaker again. _“Yeah, what did I say, huh? Fucker left his phone at our house. What an idiot. It must’ve died overnight or something. Well there you have it; mystery’s solved. You can stop throwing a bitch fit now.”_

“That still doesn’t answer why he would leave without-“

_“Look, are we done? I have to go pick up Millie from school. She’s sick and has to come home.”_

Michael sighed. There was no way he was going to get any more information out of Geoff, he figured. If Geoff wanted to end a conversation, he ended a conversation. Any undesired talk was over as soon as Geoff said it was. So Michael, wanting to appease his boss rather than piss him off further, let it slide and said goodbye.

After he hung up he threw his phone onto the chair next to him and fell back onto the couch. Lindsay quickly leaned back to join him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. Michael’s hand came up and started to stroke her hair slowly.

“I know you’re worried about Gavin but if he doesn’t want us to know why he left then you should respect his privacy,” she said, hoping to act as a sort of mediator and get Michael to see the issue from both sides. 

Michael sighed. “I know, it’s just…it’s so unlike him. And even Geoff was acting all skittish and weird. It doesn’t make sense.”

“A lot of things in this world don’t make sense.”

Michael hummed softly in agreement. “I just hope it’s nothing bad,” 

He shifted again and Lindsay nestled her head into the crook of his arm. She frowned, feeling Michael’s tense and uneasy vibe.

“I’m sure they’re both all right,” she murmured. Michael massaged her head lightly in response. “Don’t worry too much; it’s probably nothing.”


	4. Week One - Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm sorry this is so late! I got caught up with crap and this story kind of got pushed to the back burner...but my interest in this story has never disappeared and I'm ready to write new chapters!
> 
> Also I apologize if this chapter seems like it jumps around too much, I hope it's not too confusing!
> 
> Once again I apologize that it took forever to write this and that I'm uploading it so late in the day.

“And you’re sure there was nothing at the scene at all?”

Burnie sat at the island countertop in his kitchen. Elbow on the table, hand cradling his throbbing head, sitting in a slouched position, he was the epitome of stressed out. And as if the dilemma of trying to find a way to break the news to the Rooster Teeth employees was bad enough, the phone call he had just received only served to increase his stress and anxiety levels to practically his breaking point. 

The officer on the other end of the line, the one that had spoken to both Burnie and Geoff on Tuesday, sighed and there was a faint sound of rustling papers. _“The preliminary investigation report found no evidence of foul play. No finger prints, however, there were footprints found that do not match the shoes the victim was wearing. Other than that, I’m afraid there’s not much evidence to make an arrest; honestly, we have no leads for a suspect. But I can assure you that we are still greatly invested in this case and will find answers.”_

The new information on Gavin’s case, or lack thereof, had Burnie’s mind reeling, and he thanked the officer before hanging up and resting his head on the table. He sighed, finding the cold granite against his forehead to be somewhat comforting, and closed his eyes. So much was happening in the past few days that Burnie just needed a minute to breathe and collect his thoughts. He was a bundle of nerves; his mind was like papers haphazardly strewn about on a desk. Nothing was organized, and it was starting to take its toll.

Gavin’s parents had arrived Tuesday afternoon and had been staying with Burnie since then. They had plans to bring Gavin’s body back to England and hold a funeral there, then bury him near his hometown. Gavin didn’t have a will, so there was no telling what his last wishes actually were, but Burnie figured if anyone had to decide for Gavin it would be his parents. They were understandably devastated by the loss and were grieving, but were simultaneously calm and professional when it came to talking legal matters and when dealing with the investigation.

Dealing with Gavin’s parents and the police investigation left Burnie no time to think about Rooster Teeth. He had initially put any thoughts about the company to the side, but now the matter of informing the other employees about Gavin’s death was inevitable and needed to happen soon. There were no excuses to Burnie’s mishandling of the situation, although he thought that Geoff and Matt had plenty of opportunities to handle the announcement themselves. But Burnie supposed he wanted to be the one to tell the company because he had worked so closely with Gavin in the past and was the whole reason Gavin had been able to get into America in the first place. However, now that it was up to Burnie and he had been focusing on other issues, he was unsure of how exactly to proceed with announcing the news.

Burnie sighed again. He had decided that today he would call all the employees over and tell them of Gavin’s death. No more delaying, no more excuses. He needed to tell them before it was too late, though Burnie thought he had already passed that point.

But then again, what could he really tell them? Other than the fact that Gavin was dead, what else could he offer them? Burnie knew everybody would be asking questions. How did he die? Was it foul play? Was he murdered? Who would do something like this? Questions that Burnie had no answers to and probably never would, from the way things were looking at the moment. He would never be able to satisfy his employees’ curiosity or bring closure to anyone who needed it, and that hurt. It hurt him to be the bearer of such bad news but he knew he had no other choice.

With that thought in mind, Burnie picked up his cell phone and began to rifle through his contacts, when abruptly he was stopped by an incoming call from Geoff. Burnie frowned, wondering why Geoff was suddenly reaching out to him, considering he had been so reserved since Monday, and accepted the call.

“Hello?”

_“Burnie, I fucked up,”_

There was a slur to his voice, almost undetectable to someone who didn’t know Geoff when he had been drinking. But Burnie could tell right away, and although he was used to Geoff’s heavy drinking, actually hearing him drunk surprised him.

“Geoff? Are you drunk?”

 _“I’m so stupid. Oh God, I’m a fucking idiot, Burnie,”_ Geoff said. His voice was quivering; it sounded like he was incredibly upset and in hysterics, perhaps even…crying?

The thought seemed practically impossible. Geoff didn’t cry. He was made of steel; the walls he put up would never come down, no matter who he was with. The man just didn’t cry. And yet here he was, drunk and sobbing hysterically over the phone.

And Burnie was _scared,_ because a drunk and crying Geoff could only mean one thing.

Something was horribly wrong.

“What happened, Geoff?”

 _“He’s gonna kill me, Burnie. He’s gonna fucking kill me!”_ Geoff whispered frantically. He started sobbing again, rambling things along the lines of “I’m so fucked!” and “Oh God, how could I say that? I’m such an idiot!”

Burnie racked his brain for any clue as to what Geoff was talking about, but he drew a blank. He had never seen Geoff like this. Even when he got drunk, and that was very rare, Geoff was a happy drunk, not the poor sobbing mess that he was now. But then again, nothing seemed to make sense to Burnie lately, so he just focused on Geoff’s drunken ramblings and tried to piece together something coherent that he could work with. “Geoff, calm down. Take a breath, okay? Just tell me what happened that made you upset.”

_“I…I talked to Michael. He called me yesterday. He asked where Gavin was.”_

It was so quiet in the room that for a moment Burnie thought he had stopped breathing. He exhaled slowly, going over what Geoff had just said, and tried not to jump to conclusions, for worst case scenarios had already starting forming in his thoughts.

“What did you tell him?”

 _"I told him Gavin had gone back to England for a bit. Oh God, I’m so fucking stupid! Burnie, they’re gonna kill me. Michael and…”_ His voice lowered to a whisper. _“And Gavin…I am so fucking dead!”_

Time seemed to stop. Burnie felt like he was frozen, unable to move, unable to speak. Those words swirled around in his head and repeated themselves over and over, and suddenly Geoff’s conclusion was true.

They were fucked.

“Oh, Geoff,” Burnie sighed. He rubbed his forehead and leaned his elbow back on the counter. “What happened?”

\------------

_As soon as Geoff hung up the phone he knew he was in deep trouble._

_He put down his phone slowly, brain still processing what he had told Michael, and sat down to try to calm himself. For a while he just sat there staring at the floorboards, thinking. The room was silent; the only thing Geoff heard was the faint ticking of the clock over in the kitchen. And no matter how hard he tried to push it away, one thought kept coming to the front of his mind:_

_“I am so fucked,”_

_His own voice startled him slightly and he flinched. There was a raw truth to his words that stung him like he had just been slapped. He, in every sense of the word, was screwed. There was no denying it. Geoff had lied, outright lied to Michael, and sooner or later he was going to pay for it._

_The thought frightened him and immediately Geoff went and poured himself a drink. If he could just numb himself with alcohol surely he’d forget any of this ever happened, right? He’d forget the conversation with Michael, how he lied to him about Gavin’s whereabouts. And he’d forget the fact that Gavin was dead…_

_Again, that thought came back to him._

_Gavin was dead._

_And Geoff had just told Michael otherwise._

_A wave of guilt washed over him and he poured himself another drink. Half of him wanted to pick up the phone and call Michael back. He wanted to tell the truth before everything got out of hand and he ended up hurting everyone further. The other half of him, however, knew that there was no getting away with this, but perhaps he could put off the inevitable for just a bit longer…_

_God, he was so stupid. How the fuck could he say something like that? The conversation replayed in his mind and he cringed when he heard himself lie so easily to the lad. Geoff had panicked; he was still trying to figure out how to go about telling the rest of Achievement Hunter that one of there own was dead, though he wasn’t even coping well himself. He was still mourning; he was still in shock, so when Michael had grown suspicious Geoff knew he had to act fast. In a panic he said the first thing that came to his mind, and it had done him anything but good._

_That night, Geoff didn’t sleep. He lay in bed, eyes staring at the ceiling, guilt eating away at his heart. More than once he got out of bed and paced the length of his bedroom, clutching his phone and ready to call Michael to set things straight. But he always backed out, and when he did Geoff would stop at his dresser and stare at a picture of him and Gavin out fishing together; the tears would well up again and he would feel another wave of guilt slam into him like a punch to his heart._

_Finally, after hours of torturous consciousness, the sun peeked out over the horizon. Exhausted both physically and mentally, Geoff dragged himself up from his position on the floor against the bathroom door and over to the bed. He crawled under the covers, his tiredness momentarily blocking any feelings of guilt or thoughts about Wednesday’s occurrences. For just a fraction of a second Geoff felt something close to peace, and he was just about to close his eyes when he heard the sound of glass shattering downstairs._

_Immediately Geoff’s eyes flew open and his heart skipped a beat. For a moment he lay in bed quietly, listening for any sounds indicating someone was in the house. But the whole house seemed silent…perhaps one of his cats just knocked something over. Yeah, that was probably it. No need to freak out about something minor._

_Reluctantly disentangling himself from the covers, Geoff exited the room and quietly descended the staircase. As he stepped down onto the hardwood floor he cursed mentally; he should’ve brought a weapon or something…just in case._

_Geoff tried to reassure himself that it was probably just his stupid cat, but as he rounded the corner and entered the hallway, he saw that the cause of the noise was far worse than anything he had ever imagined._

_Because there, standing at the end of the hallway and looking more alive than he had two days ago, was Gavin._

_Geoff’s breath caught in his throat. He backed up slightly, unsure and absolutely terrified of what he was seeing. The figure—Geoff refused to believe that it was actually Gavin standing there—moved forward just a few steps and stopped directly in the light streaming in from one of the windows._

_Gavin’s face was absolutely livid._

_“This isn’t real,” Geoff whispered to himself. His eyes stayed locked on the Gavin look-alike as he took another tentative step backwards. “You’re not real…”_

_"You lied,” Gavin said. His voice sent chills down Geoff’s spine; it had seemed like years since he heard the familiar British accent. But hearing it sound so angry and cold startled him, and he felt a sense of fear radiate through him._

_“You’re not real,” Geoff repeated. “I’m going crazy. I’m fucking nuts; you’re not real!”_

" _Why didn’t you tell them, Geoff?” Gavin demanded. He took another step forward. “You lied to Michael. You lied to everyone. Why don’t you just tell them?”_

_Squeezing his eyes shut, Geoff shook his head frantically. “This isn’t happening…I’m hallucinating, I’m still drunk. None of this is real…”_

_“Why didn’t you tell them? Why are you lying? Why won’t you tell the truth?”_

_“Geoff?”_

_Relief flooded through Geoff’s being like a tsunami. He opened his eyes, seeing nothing but an empty hallway before him, and turned around. Griffon leaned over the balcony above, worry and tiredness evident on her face. She gave Geoff a concerned glance._

_“What happened?” she asked. Her eyes travelled to the glass shards and shattered picture frames on the floor._

_“Nothing…the cat must have done it. I’ll clean it up in a bit,”_

_Griffon watched as he looked nervously down the hall again. “Come back upstairs, you look awful. You need sleep.”_

_Geoff shook his head. “No, I’m…I’m okay. Go back to bed. I just need some time alone,”_

_Griffon stared at him for a few moments in silence. She looked like she wanted to say something, but instead relented and padded back into the bedroom, closing the door softly behind her._

_As soon as she was gone Geoff quickly checked the hall again. Seeing no one, he stepped cautiously over the broken glass and entered the kitchen, where he realized what he had just witnessed._

_Geoff spent the rest of that Thursday morning slamming down drink after drink in a vain attempt to forget it all._

_\------------_

That Thursday night, the Jones household was quiet. Michael and Lindsay sat on the couch, flipping through channels after dinner to relax before bed. It was a routine they had established, but with other things on his mind, Michael was unable to unwind, no matter how hard Lindsay tried to get him to drop the subject.

He was thinking of Gavin again, no surprise there. He seemed to be all Michael was thinking about lately. If this were any other situation, Michael would think nothing of Gavin leaving, but because of Geoff’s hesitation and overall strange behavior, Michael had become incredibly suspicious and would constantly try to bring it up in a conversation with Lindsay, who had grown tired of the topic and was starting to get fed up with it all.

Michael understood her aversion to the conversation, but he was just too damn curious. He knew something was wrong, but he had no way of proving it. With Gavin gone without his phone and Geoff’s reluctance to give any other details, Michael had hit a dead end in his “investigation” and it frustrated him to no end.

He was brought out of his musing when suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw that he received a text from Ray, simply reading, “Have you heard from Gavin yet?”

Michael sighed. He was about to type a reply saying no, he hadn’t, when Lindsay gasped next to him and violently smacked his shoulder.

“Michael!” she breathed in shock. In response, Michael’s head snapped up and his eyes searched his wife’s face, seeing that she was wide-eyed and slack-jawed. She pointed to the television, and Michael’s eyes travelled to the screen.

 _“Police are reporting on the shooting death of a 26 year-old male in downtown Austin early Monday morning. The victim was found at_ _the office site of Rooster Teeth, a production company popular on the Internet for their live-action shorts and gaming videos. The victim is believed to be an employee of the company, though the company has not released an official statement. Police are speculating the death to be a suicide, however, further investigation is needed. We’ll continue to provide updates as this story develops.”_

Michael blinked at the television in disbelief. He didn’t want to believe what he was thinking, but it was the only conclusion that made sense. He hadn’t heard from Gavin since Sunday night when he left him at the office…the victim was found at the Rooster Teeth office on Monday morning…Gavin was 26 years old…

Gavin was dead.

Only one thought echoed through Michael’s mind as he felt his blood begin to boil with rage.

“That lying son of a bitch.”


End file.
